UPDATE: Sacramento father arrested in killings of 3 children

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Three children were killed inside a California apartment and their father has been arrested in the deaths that followed a domestic violence altercation with his wife, authorities said Thursday.

The children were killed at the family’s West Sacramento apartment after 9 p.m. PDT Wednesday. Police and first responders tried life-saving measures on the children, but all three were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have not revealed how they were killed.

Kinney said the mother witnessed the killings, and that she, too, was a victim of domestic violence.

“Obviously, she’s traumatized, and it’s going to take some time to find out what’s going on,” Kinney said.

Neighbors called 911 to report a domestic violence incident, and as police were on the way to the apartment, someone called again to report the children were possibly dead, he said.

The children’s names, ages and genders have not been released.

Kinney said a chaplain will be sent out to help neighbors of the victims and grief counselors will be made available to the officers who responded to the scene, as well as the Washington Unified School District, Kinney said.

“The officers are absolutely impacted, along with the firefighters, and certainly the family, the neighbors,” he said. “It’s horrific and it’s very difficult to deal with.”